Peter Dodds McCormick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Dodds McCormick (1834? - October 30, 1916), a Scottish-born schoolteacher, was the composer of the Australian national anthem Advance Australia Fair.

Born in the son of a seaman at Port Glasgow, Scotland, he arrived in Sydney (at that time the principal city of the British colony of New South Wales) in 1855. Details of his earlier years, prior to his arrival in Australia, are shadowy. He spent most of his life employed by the NSW Education Department. In 1863 he was appointed teacher-in charge of at St Mary's National School in 1863 and went on to teach at the Presbyterian denominational school at Woolloomooloo in 1867 and at Dowling Plunkett Street Public School in 1878 where he remained until 1885.

McCormick was heavily involved in the Scottish Presbyterian Church and was active in a number of community and benevolent organisations. He began his involvement with Sydney's St Stephen's Church as a stonemason, working on the now demolished Phillip Street Church (where Martin Place now stands). The Reverend Hugh Darling was so impressed with his singing on the job he asked him to join the choir. McCormick's musical ability led him to becoming the precentor of the Presbyterian church of NSW, which gave him the opportunity to conduct very large massed choirs. He was also convenor of the Presbyterian Church Assembly's Committee on Psalmody.

Also a talented composer, he published around 30 patriotic and Scottish songs, some of which became very popular. Included in his collected works was Advance Australia Fair, which was first performed in public by Mr Andrew Fairfax at the St Andrew's Day concert of the Highland Society on November 30, 1878.

Peter Dodds McCormick published the words of Advance Australia Fair under the alias Amicus

Advance Australia Fair became quite a popular patriotic song. The Sydney Morning Herald described the music as bold and stirring, and the words "decidedly patriotic" - it was "likely to become a popular favourite". Later under the alias "Amicus" he had the music and four verses published by W. H. Paling & Co. Ltd.

The song quickly gained popularity and an amended version was sung by a choir of 10,000 at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 and was performed by massed bands at the Federal capital celebrations in Canberra. In 1907, the Australian Government awarded McCormick £100 for for his patriotic composition which he registered for copyright in 1915.

In a letter to a friend McCormick described the circumstances that inspired him to pen the lyrics of his famous song; after attending a concert at which national anthems were sung, he:

"felt very aggravated that there was not one note for Australia. On the way home in a bus, I concocted the first verse of my song & when I got home I set it to music. I first wrote it in the Tonic Sol-fa notation, then transcribed it into the Old Notation, & tried it over on an instrument next morning, & found correct. It seemed to me to be like an inspiration, & I wrote the words & music with the greatest ease."

McCormick died on October 30, 1916, and he was buried at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. He had no children; he was survived by his second wife Emma. His obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald stated: "Mr. McCormick established a reputation with the patriotic song, Advance Australia Fair, which ... has come to be recognised as something in the nature of an Australian National Anthem".